SAN FRANCISCO – If at first you don’t succeed, try again.

That seems to be the philosophy of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Pricilla Chan, who are donating $120 million to help the San Francisco Bay area’s public schools. The generous donation follows the liberal mindset that increasing funding for education will produce better academic results, and improve the lives of countless students.

But history shows that’s not how it works.

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Zuckerberg in 2010 donated $100 million to the chronically poor-performing Newark public school district with little to show for it.

“For the first two years, much of the money was spent on consulting firms for reviewing teacher evaluations, public relations and communications,” according to a Viral Global News editorial.

The massive cash infusion in Newark also went toward hiring 50 new principals, the creation of four new high schools, and helped to produce a new teachers contract that outlines merit pay.

“Sadly, it appears much of the money is gone, and the above points are failing considerably,” according to the news site. “Newark ranks as one of the most expensive districts per student, across the country. While analysts were being hired, and principals hired – little was being implemented to actually help the students.”

The results in Newark certainly beg the question: How will things be any different in San Francisco?

The answer is they likely won’t.

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Education reformers, unlike the nation’s teachers unions, understand that more money doesn’t equal better educated students. The U.S.’s international education ranking, juxtaposed with spending, clearly illustrates that money can’t buy smarter students.

That’s because of teachers union contracts in public schools that control virtually every facet of how students are educated, from the minutes of instruction in the school day to “thou shalt not” work rules that prevent school officials from putting student needs ahead of employee interests.

It’s no different in San Francisco.

In recent years the district has laid off teachers, principals and support staff; shortened the school years by several days; and cut student programs like summer school, art, music and special education in order to afford many very expensive and non-essential items for school employees.

The district found $134 million to pay athletic coaches and other extracurricular expenses, $44.8 million on health insurance coverage (while employees paid a combined $14.7 million), as well as over $1.3 million in special bonuses for educators, according to an EAGnews analysis of the district’s contract with its teachers union.

In San Francisco, the Zuckerbergs are targeting their money a little better.

“The initial grants will go toward initiatives that provide computers and connectivity in schools, as well as teacher training and parent outreach to make these a really valuable addition to the learning experience,” Zuckerberg wrote in an essay for San Jose Mercury News.

“The most important thing they’ve learned (from Newark) is to bring in the local community to be involved with their work, to focus on the community’s needs,” Will Hodges, spokesman for the Bay area project, told NDTV.

In Newark, “Out of $83 million spent, $31 million went for retroactive teacher pay and $17.5 million towards a new teachers contract pegged to student performance. Experts say there is no funding in place to continue to subsidize the merit pay system once the Facebook cash is gone,” according to NDTV.

Four years after the $100 million infusion in Newark, not much has changed. Graduation rates increased to 67 percent last year, from 54 percent in 2009, but most test scores for math and reading remain virtually the same.

If the Zuckerbergs intend on making a difference in San Francisco, they must ensure their donation isn’t squandered on expensive consultants, or to pay for perks for school employees. With teachers unions running the show, that can be a much more difficult task than simply writing a check.